Cocoa Marketing Company (Ghana) Ltd. (CMC) is advancing a 24-hour operations programme designed to cut delays in cocoa handling and exports as the country seeks to strengthen its position in the global market.
The programme, known as Offload 24, Load 24 and Export 24, will extend operations across the cocoa supply chain, covering the continuous receipt of cocoa from licensed buying companies, loading and deliveries to local processors, and longer operating hours for shipment activities.
The initiative is aimed at tackling bottlenecks linked to conventional working hours, including congestion at take-over centres, delays in documentation and shipment processing, and underuse of operational assets, CMC said in a statement.
The move also seeks to improve coordination with port authorities, Customs, shipping lines, transport companies and processors, whose operations increasingly extend beyond standard working hours.
CMC expects the extended operating schedule to reduce turnaround times, improve service delivery and increase the utilisation of its facilities and other operational assets. Faster processing could also support shorter cash-flow cycles across the cocoa marketing chain.
Ghana is one of the world’s leading cocoa producers and relies heavily on cocoa exports for foreign-exchange earnings. Improving the efficiency of the export chain is therefore important not only for traders and processors but also for the wider economy.
The programme will be introduced in phases, with CMC focusing on infrastructure upgrades, staff training and sensitisation, security and safety measures, technology support and continuous monitoring of operational performance.
The company said the programme will be implemented while maintaining Ghana’s premium cocoa quality standards.
CMC said the broader objective is to build a more responsive and efficient cocoa marketing and export system capable of delivering sustainable value to farmers, buyers, processors and the national economy.
